Work towards significant improvement to traffic signals and traffic flow in Africa’s financial hub, Sandton Central, is ongoing, with Sandton Central Management District (SCMD), Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) and Traffic Freeflow joining forces.
Recently, says Jack, JRA engineers retimed several intersections to start peak-hour flow timings half an hour earlier in the morning, running from 06h00 to 09h00, and their peak afternoon plans now run longer too, from 15h30 to 20h00.This is according to Elaine Jack, City Improvement District Manager for SCMD, who says the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA), states that on average, roughly 50 of Johannesburg’s 2 135 intersections experience signal downtime each day. Ageing signal infrastructure and lack of secure electricity supply account for roughly 25% of faults reported daily.
However, Jack says to proactively address the electricity supply to traffic signals, Sandton Central has already sponsored six uninterrupted power supply (UPS) units for traffic signals at key intersections in its precinct.
“We have invested in measures to ensure that key traffic signals in the district are always on. Also, we have partnered with the JRA on a number of key initiatives, including a traffic signal forum where we actively engage with both the JRA and Eskom technicians in order to reduce the time of traffic signals being down,” says Jack.
“We work closely with JRA management and traffic engineers to relook traffic signal timings to ensure the best traffic flows too.”
Recently, says Jack, JRA engineers retimed several intersections to start peak-hour flow timings half an hour earlier in the morning, running from 06h00 to 09h00, and their peak afternoon plans now run longer too, from 15h30 to 20h00.
According to Jack, the city has started a ‘no-join’ policy for fixing electrical faults, ending the practice where signals were fixed by joining cables. In addition, the JRA will be implementing improved traffic monitoring systems, including a 24-hour response centre for responding to reports of signal loss.These intersections are:
1. Rivonia and 5th
2. Sandton Drive and Alice
3. Rivonia and Pybus
4. Rivonia and Katherine
5. Sandton and Grayston
6. Rivonia and Fredman
7. Rivonia and Maude/Linden
9. Rivonia and Pretoria/Daisy
1. Rivonia and West
Jack says SCMD is also thrilled by the City of Johannesburg’s recent announcement that it will be allocating an additional R200 million over the next three years to improve traffic management, paying special focus to traffic lights and the replacement of copper cabling at key intersections.
According to Jack, the city has started a ‘no-join’ policy for fixing electrical faults, ending the practice where signals were fixed by joining cables. In addition, the JRA will be implementing improved traffic monitoring systems, including a 24-hour response centre for responding to reports of signal loss.
Jack says to proactively address the electricity supply to traffic signals, Sandton Central has already sponsored six uninterrupted power supply (UPS) units for traffic signals at key intersections in its precinct.“Non-working traffic signals in a business district like Sandton Central can be detrimental in terms of lost time and economic productivity. To add to the problem, the environmental impact of cars sitting on the road contributes to increased carbon emissions,” says Jack.
“Not only are we working towards better traffic flows, but the City of Johannesburg, in its commitment to the Paris Agreement signed at COP21, is also working to find innovative ways to combat climate change. As a leading financial district, Sandton Central prioritises both these goals.”
Looking ahead, Jack says SCMD would like to see all CID traffic signals resynchronised, but the imminent arrival of the Rea Vaya Bust Rapid Transit System (BRT) in Sandton Central will require the timings to be changed again, which, according to the JRA, could prove a costly exercise.
“There has already been a great improvement as we are already experiencing less traffic signal outages within Sandton Central as all our traffic signals have been recabled and upgraded. Going forward, we hope to engage with the JRA in order to open more road accesses into Sandton Central, which is currently restricted to the only five core entries and exits,” says Jack.
“SCMD looks forward to continuing with the partnership we have built with City of Johannesburg, the JRA, JMPD and Traffic Freeflow as we forge ahead to ensure a better, smarter, smoother flowing and more environmentally-friendly city that is a great place to live, work and visit.”
